The Avalanche is steadily setting up defenseman Brandon Gormley for his Colorado debut, after trimming the roster to 22 on Wednesday. Winger Borna Rendulic was sent to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage.

Coach Patrick Roy will stick with a 22-man roster for the time being.

“We just wanted (Rendulic) to play,” Roy said. “We’re healthy right now. I was not planning to use him. Worst-case scenario, I was going to use seven defensemen.”

But Brandon Gormley — a 23-year-old who arrived with the Avs in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes last month but has yet to play — may soon see the ice.

“I want to see Gormley eventually,” Roy said. “He’s been practicing well. Eventually we’ll need to have a look at him.”

Through five games this season, the Avs have rotated Nate Guenin, Brad Stuart and Nikita Zadorov on their third defensive line. But Roy said that he’s liked what he’s seen from Gormley enough to, perhaps, bump one of them down.

“He works hard. He has the right attitude,” Roy said of Gormley, who played in 27 games for Arizona last season. “His one-on-one battles are really good. If we put him in, he’ll respond well.”

I like Francois Beauchemin. He’s a tremendous hard-nosed hockey player and his first job as a child was delivering the Journal de Montreal newspaper every morning at 5 a.m., according to his Anaheim Ducks’ bio. That job dates his age, obviously, and his age makes me question his signing by the Avalanche.

Our news story about the Avalanche’s free-agent signings Wednesday is here. Just Beauchemin and Blake Comeau to the Avs. Terrific addition in the 29-year-old Comeau, by the way. Had 16 goals in 61 games for Pittsburgh last season. He can play on any line, any role.

The Avs are done for the day, likely done for the week, GM Joe Sakic said.

My thoughts about improving the D? Francois Beauchemin has had an outstanding NHL career. Super tough and rugged and a good teammate — a guy you hate playing against but love having on your team. A winner, a warrior — a Stanley Cup champion. The same was said about Brad Stuart a year ago, who at age 34 was acquired in a trade with San Jose. Beauchemin and Stuart were in the same 1998 NHL draft class. They are the same player, and joining the Avs with a careers-worth of mileage on their bodies. Brad Stuart was not the answer the team sought, and already is considered a No. 5 or No. 6 guy.

Washington defenseman Mike Green, a pending unrestricted free agent, wants to return to the first or second blue-line pairing, and the Avalanche could certainly accommodate him — positionally and financially. Question is, will Colorado come up with a big contract for another right-handed shot?

Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie are also righties, as are Zach Redmond and Nate Guenin. The two other Avalanche D under contract are left-shooting Brad Stuart and Nick Holden.

Johnson and Barrie will get top-four minutes. If Green chooses Colorado, the Avs could potentially have four righties in their top two pairings. Does it matter?

The same question will be asked with the recruitment of fellow UFA D Cody Franson, another righty. Franson was traded from Toronto to Nashville in March and Predators GM David Poile later regretted the move — because he already had righties Shea Weber, Seth Jones and Ryan Ellis.

Poile on Franson/Santorelli trade: "The fact that Franson was a right-handed shot…wasn't the perfect situation for Franson or for us."

Green, 29, and Franson, 27, are two of the top UFA D under age 30. Among that group is Andrej Sekera, 29, a lefty. I think the Avs will focus their attention on signing Sekera, but don’t count out Green or Franson. Last season, coach Patrick Roy had Barrie and Guenin together for much of the season. When asked about pairing the two righties, Roy downplayed it.

Back to Green, a two-time Norris Trophy finalist who scored 31 goals in 2008-09. He finished last season as the Caps’ fifth defenseman, averaging a little more than 19 minutes. Last summer, the Caps signed free agents Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik to long-term deals with $5.75 and $5.5 million cap hits, respectively, and mid-20s John Carlson and Karl Alzner made up the second pairing. Green — who led all Washington D with a $6.25 million cap hit — mostly played with Tim Gleason.

Niskanen, Orpik, Carlson and Alzner are under contract next season. Green is bound to sign elsewhere, likely taking a pay cut. The Avs are nearly $11 million under the salary cap, and much of that will be spent on at least one free agent D.

“I want to play a significant role, whatever that is,” Green told Washington reporters, and quoted in a NHL.com story. “I take pride in whatever my role is on the team. I feel like I can play top-two (pairing) for sure.”

Geography might be the most difficult hurdle in signing Green, who has played in Washington his entire career. The Avs tried to sign Niskanen (from Pittsburgh), Orpik (Penguins) and Anton Stralman (Rangers), among others, from last year’s UFA D grouping, but Colorado GM Joe Sakic said many of them preferred to stay on the East Coast. Easier travel. The Avs are the only Central Division team outside the Central Time zone.

But certainly, I think Green or Franson could fit in well with the Avs, regardless of what side they pass and shoot the puck from.

The Avalanche didn’t practice Friday, but word came that defenseman Brad Stuart, who suffered a cut to the leg Thursday in the first period against Winnipeg and was done for the night, won’t be able to play Saturday against Chicago.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Siemens was the second of the Avalanche’s two first-round picks in 2011, going 11th overall, or nine slots after Gabe Landeskog.

Siemens, who will be making his NHL debut against the Blackhawks, has no goals and six assists in 51 games for the Monsters. If the Avalanche chooses not to disrupt the other regular pairings of late, Siemens will be plugged into a pairing with Nick Holden. The other pairings have been Tyson Barrie-Nate Guenin and Zach Redmond-Jan Hejda.

Avalanche coach Patrick Roy Friday responded to a question from NHL.com’s Rick Sadowski about Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie with this: “I’d like to talk about Brad Stuart, if you don’t mind.”

When a coach has something he wants to say, I’ve got no problem with just getting it off his chest.

Roy clearly believes that Stuart hasn’t been given enough credit for stepping up after Erik Johnson went out of the lineup following arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 26. Colorado plugged veteran Zach Redmond, previously a healthy scratch most nights, into Johnson’s spot in the pairing with Jan Hejda, but the Stuart-Nick Holden has been doing much of the heavy lifting against opposition top lines. Read more…

Cody McLeod’s line: four shots, five hits, two blocked shots in 8:58. He was tossed from the game 6:22 into the third period after racking up 30 minutes of penalties. He had two fighting majors and absorbed a over-another-guy’s-shoulder sucker punch in a scrum from Jason Demers before both were given 10-minute misconducts. We aren’t sure why McLeod got the additional game misconduct, and the crowd of 18,087 didn’t want to see McLeod go.

So I figured I’d help bring him back to do the Altitude postgame No. 1 star interview — based primarily on his rugged play when he still had his skates on. Plays away from the puck can be as important as what you do with the puck on your stick. McLeod did plenty to halt Colorado’s four-game losing streak.

Helluva #1 Star pick tonight by @MikeChambers, tip of the cap to you sir. Cody Mac brought the pain tonight and set the tone for the #Avs

Who would you have picked for the No. 1 star? The guys with one goal: Gabe Landeskog (changed from Nathan MacKinnon), Alex Tanguay, Jarome Iginla, Dennis Everberg? Everberg and Tanguay got their second points of the night in the final minute, long after my selections had to be made. Goalie Semyon Varlamov? He had 15 saves after two periods and 24 for the game, and was at best the No. 3 star. A defensemen or two were in the running — Brad Stuart and Nate Guenin — because both had assists and led the charge in front of Varlamov. But I settled on McLeod because hockey is a rugged sport, nobody plays as rugged as No. 55, and he played his role to perfection in all three periods. And, I’ll admit, I wanted to see the crowd’s response when McLeod came out of the dressing room in sweats. McLeod wears the “A” because he’s a great team guy. The fans love him too; he’s always the one guy who goes to battle every game.

Jarome Iginla (12) upends Chicago Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad (20) as they chase down the puck during the first period November 26, 2014 at Pepsi Center. (Photo By John Leyba/The Denver Post)

First off, happy Thanksgiving. Let’s think of the less fortunate in times like these.

Avs lose 3-2, on a late Bryan Bickell goal. I interviewed him earlier in the day, and told him to enjoy the goal he would score in the game, because almost every single time I interview an opposing player on the day of a game, they score a goal. I mean, it’s spooky. So, you can blame me for the loss I guess.

The Avs blamed the referees for the loss too. Patrick Roy and Alex Tanguay both verbalized their displeasure in the disparity in power-play time (almost 10 minutes to less than three minutes). Do I think the Avs got jobbed by the refs too? A little, yeah, but the best team won tonight. That’s the bottom line.

But the Blackhawks should have won. They were a rested, healthy team playing a team missing TEN regular players, one that played the night before on the road. So, congrats on a one-goal win I guess.

It just felt too much like the Avs were hanging on for dear life too often in this game, though. The defense just showed Chicago too much respect at the wrong times, especially on that Bickell winning goal. Nick Holden had a chance to take the body on Patrick Kane cutting in front of him, but let him keep skating and that led to chaos in front after he put a puck on net. Bickell was just given too much time and space on the rebound and that was that. Read more…

We’ll get an update from the coach after practice today, but Avalanche defenseman Brad Stuart might miss some time with a leg injury.

Stuart left Tuesday’s game early with the injury and didn’t return. There was no immediate update after the game. A lot of fans have been bashing Stuart of late, but I think his play was getting better, and if he’s out a while it will hurt a defense that can’t afford to miss top guys.

I spoke with Jarome Iginla after Friday’s preseason game against Montreal in Quebec City, and here’s what he said about possibly inheriting Paul Stastny’s “A” and serving beside captain Landeskog and assistant Cody McLeod. Coach Patrick Roy told me last week he wants Iginla, 37, to choose if he wants to wear the “A” or defer if he thinks it would benefit the team.

Iginla was captain in Calgary for nine of the 16 years he played for the Flames, who play the Avs in a preaseason game Sunday in Denver (6 p.m.)

“It was definitely and honor and I want to come in and help the leadership group, and we will re-address it soon,” Iginla told me about his initial conversation with Roy. “Great young talent here and it’s nice to come in the dressing room and see the dynamics and the young guys taking charge.”Read more…

Here’s the first of what should be many pictures and videos of the latest high-profile newcomer to the Avs, Jarome Iginla. I snapped this one off today at Family Sports Center, where most all Avs regular roster players were on hand for an informal practice and scrimmage following rookie camp. I didn’t notice too many guys huffing and puffing out there. As I noted yesterday, everybody comes into camp in top shape already now, unlike the old days.

Players were off limits to the media in the dressing room following the scrimmage, so I got no quotes to share with you from anyone. Those will come soon enough too.

It’s going to take some time getting used to seeing Iginla in an Avs sweater, right?

We all had a strong suspicion Jan Hejda was hurt going into the playoffs. But not until after the crushing overtime loss of Game 7 to Minnesota did we know just how bad the veteran Czech D-man was hurt.

I’ve seen some ugly injuries in the dressing room before, but Hejda’s thumb was gross when he showed it to me after Game 7. Essentially, there was a tip of a metal pin sticking out from the top of his thumb, kind of bloody on top. I immediately felt remorse for some of the snarky things I said about Hejda’s play in the first round against the Wild. In the seven-game series, Hejda had no goals, no assists and a minus-6. He gave the puck away numerous times, and was caught flat-footed on the overtime goal in Game 3 by Mikael Granlund that got the Wild back in the series.

The best thing I can say about Hejda is this: he never used the broken thumb as an excuse. He’s a stand-up guy. His attitude was “I was out there in uniform, so I should be judged by what I did on the ice, period.”Read more…

Jarome Iginla #12 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his second period goal against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on March 18, 2014 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty

I think so. One thing is for sure: the Avs are a more, ahem, experienced team than they were yesterday. Since Monday afternoon, the Avs have added Daniel Briere (36), Jarome Iginla (37 today) and Brad Stuart (34) and lost Paul Stastny (28), P.A. Parenteau (30) and Andre Benoit (30), not to mention Brad Malone (25).

The Avs also added Jesse Winchester (30) from Florida. He could be the team’s new fourth-line center, though it’s more likely he’ll be a winger. That’s mostly where he played with the Panthers.

OK, here’s what I really think: I think the Avs are a bigger and tougher team than they were before. Their dressing room has more guys who have been there before. Yes, it’s an older room now. Iginla, Briere, Stuart, etc., have seen their best days already, almost certainly. Yes, losing Stastny, especially to the division rival Blues, was a tough loss. And the Avs can’t sit and feel too self-righteous now about losing him, because they clearly tried to get him back, right up until the final day. And, yes, the Avs essentially gambled and lost with Stastny. They decided to keep him at the trade deadline, their last chance to get something in return for him, and hope that a) they might win a Stanley Cup this year with him and/or b) hope their offer over the summer would be good enough to keep him. It wasn’t. Read more…

C Paul Stastny officially signs four-year, $28 million deal with the St. Louis Blues. Stastny has been playing hockey in Denver since 2004, when he joined the University of Denver. Now he goes home, where his parents live, and will go against his best friends in the ultra-tough Central Division that is getting tougher today.

As Kid Rock said “There ain’t no party like a Detroit party, cuz a Detroit party don’t stop.”
Well, downtown Detroit is actually pretty quiet at night usually, but it’s still a good line, and Detroit is ready to party some starting tonight. Wings-Avs, Round 6 in their playoff battle. Will the Avs spoil the party, like they have in three of the previous 5?

Well, I picked the Wings in 7, but as we all know, my predictions are not always right. In fact, they haven’t been right at all of late. Read more…

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.